I own three Decware Amps....all needed understandable burn in. However, I can't believe how good this Pre is out of the box. Sound Stage depth with even better definition and shimmer an decay of ride an crash cymbals....an the gain?.......oh yeah. As I said above, top to bottom definition........................................................................ .

Over & Out...time to jam...I will leave the pontificating to you all....... .

I just had a minor epiphany - I had a great, although short, listening session last night. Just put on some random albums while cooking dinner, and everything sounded amazing, even better then last week I swear.

Then I was thinking about my post in the MG944 thread, and how I have a couple nit-picks about my speakers, and how I have a few nit-picks about my Oppo, and probably my P10 if I really thought about it...then I realized; I honestly can't think of anything I'm unhappy with, wish I could change, or even a minor nit-to-pick on the Mystery Amp. And I've just about always got something I wish was better...except, i can't think of a damn thing I wish the ZMA did better or that I'd want...except maybe for Steve to accidentally installed some balanced inputs for me free of charge. ;D

In the future I could see having only one set of inputs being a limiting factor, but right now that doesn't even bother me.

Oh wait! I just thought of something, it's not sound related though. The IEC input - it's kinda loosey goosey and doesn't seem to handle heavy power cables well. In fact, I bought this up with Steve and he said he'd looked far and wide for a better one, and even the expensive name brand ones sucked.

So if any of you guys who build amps know of a good IEC inlet that doesn't break the bank, I'd be interested in knowing what it is and run it past Steve.

I'd say it's a good piece of kit when that's the best I could do for a complaint. LOL

I think my Pangea fit OK, but not tight. Steve actually recommended putting some heat shrink on the leading edge of the plug to tighten it up in the IEC inlet. I might try that if I can find some big ass heat shrink that's at least 3:1 shrink ratio.

I new I needed the CSP3 for my ZMA....because you need the CSP3 to get the proper definition out of the ZMA at 78db to 92db SPL. Where as, my SE84CS & Super Zen CKC are fine with the my volume attenuated DAC at 68db to 80db SPL because it will clip beyond this SPL.

However, the glorious holographic music you get at those SPL levels with the CS & CKC is stunning...I will keep both of these Amps indefinitely.

But, my point being.....you need the CSP3 to run the ZMA = period, if you want to hear all it can be. Another suggestion would be multiple Speakers for playback with the ZMA...at least two pair....preferably four...to really know what the ZMA can do! In for a penny...in for a pound. If you settled on just high efficiency speakers for your ZMA...then you are at a loss.

I still haven't tried out the balanced inputs on my ZMA. It would help if I had XLR cables in the house or could make a decision on which ones to pick up. I was about ready to click order on a set of Kimber Hero XLR's from Music Direct, but I decided not to at the last minute. I then decided to contact the folks over at The Cable Company and they recommended Kimber or Synergistic Research. Stone was also kind enough to take the time and give me his feedback on Kimber...so one really needs to ask, how much more information/convincing do I need to just get some in and try them out?

I was just going to buy the balanced plugs and make the cables myself using the 20AWG version of the Decware Styx cable. If it turned out to be a real winner (using balanced), then I'd probably buy something better.

Go for it Dave. You get good service an no pressure to buy from the CableCo guys!

I would bring in the Hero XLR on loan and get a cheapo XLR, say, from Emotiva as your control...see if you can hear a difference worth spending on the Hero.

The XLR's from Emotiva for 29.99 are unavailable. But, you can buy a control pair to burn in an ABA against the Kimber anywhere...grab one off of Amazon...etc... .Or, Parts Express I should say....I get an email from them everyday!

Cheers, happy Friday....another near 70 day for today an tomorrow...then Sunday a high of 39 for us up in the great white north! Well, a good day for Music then...and the final round of the Masters... .